''Ghosts'' is a 2006 drama film directed by

Nick Broomfield Nicholas Broomfield (born 1948) is an English documentary film director. His self-reflective style has been regarded as influential to many later filmmakers. In the early 21st century, he began to use non-actors in scripted works, which he call ...

, based on the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. The title is a reference to the Cantonese slang term ''

Gweilo ''Gweilo'' or (, pronounced ) is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners. The term can be literally translated as "ghost man" and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use, though its modern usage is often in a general and ...

'' (鬼佬), meaning "ghost man", used for

white people White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...

Plot

Ai Qin is an illegal Chinese immigrant to the United Kingdom. She comes from

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

, China, where there the only work is badly paid agricultural labour, and even this is in short supply. Ai Qin has a son but her husband is not seen (it is later revealed that he left her for another woman). The family have some awareness of the dangers of leaving for a foreign country, and can keep in touch using mobile phones, but they have no control once Ai Qin puts herself in the hands of a "snakehead" gang who, for a deposit of $5,000 (and the obligation to pay off the loan of another $20,000), will smuggle her to Europe. The film follows her from China to the United Kingdom where she gets a job in a meat-packing factory. It asserts that the UK's food industry is heavily dependent on underpaid, exploited migrant labour. "Massage" (i.e. sex work) is offered as a better paid alternative, but she resists this. She finds herself dependent on a "

gangmaster The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) is the foremost intelligence and investigative agency for labour exploitation in the UK. Its role is to work in partnership with police and other law enforcement agencies such as the National Crim ...

", who, however, is only one step up himself and needs to bribe richer contractors to get her and others even badly paid work. His position and that of the group is deteriorating, and it is in some desperation that they turn to cockle-picking at

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second largest ga ...

. The film begins and ends with scenes recreating the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster, in which 23 illegal workers lost their lives whilst cockle-picking.

Cast

* Ai Qin Lin as Ai Qin * Zhan Yu as Mr. Lin * Zhe Wei as Xiao Li * Man Qin Wei as Chiao * Yong Aing Zhai * Devi Zhu * Shaun Gallagher as Robert

Basis in fact

The 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster involved 38 individuals, of whom 23 drowned. The

got 14 years' imprisonment. His girlfriend was found guilty of immigration offences. The film shows a much smaller group, so it is not a literal retelling.

Release

It was released in January 2007. It was aired on the British TV channel

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content The i ...

in 2007.

References

External links

*
Film review

Review from openDemocracy.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosts (2006 Film) 2006 films 2006 drama films Drama films based on actual events 2000s Mandarin-language films Films directed by Nick Broomfield Films about human trafficking Human trafficking in the United Kingdom British drama films Films about illegal immigration to Europe 2000s English-language films 2000s British films Films scored by Harry Escott Films scored by Molly Nyman English-language documentary films Films about immigration to the United Kingdom